How Rude, Tanneritos!“Our Very First Show” Recap (Part 1) Season 1 Episode 1
Jodie and Andrea dive right into their rewatch adventure by breaking down the premiere episode of Full House! Find out what day 1 for the Tanner family was like behind the scenes, which two cast members didn’t initially get along and how Andrea’s unearthed pilot script could’ve changed everything we know about TGIF. And can you even imagine Full House without Bob Saget?? It almost happened. Hang onto the curtains tight, because we’re just getting started!
High, Joey sweet High and Andria Barber. Uh that we used to do that all We would just walk by each other on set from Full House, Fuller House, just the every time I would see you, I just walked be like Andrea Barber.
I don't know why last Sunday, Yeah, joe ybody, Sweeten yep. Why didn't we start doing that?
Why did we start doing any of this? You know, I have no idea. It just because it's one of those things like you pass each other so often, I think in dressing room hallways. I always feel it was always like awkward to not like acknowledge somebody. So I would just say their name at them in some sort of strange, random fashion. I don't know. It felt appropriate, and it felt appropriate and normal right, which should have been the first morning now yea. But yeah, and Ria Barber, I'm so glad to be here with you today. Me too, Me too. You know what I was thinking about because we were talking last week about going up to the full House house when we were out in front of the house.
And the house, the house, the house, the the.
House, the house that no longer looks like the house because they don't want people knowing it's the house. But the owner came out when we were out there dancing like fools in front of the house, and we tried to play it off really cool. I don't think I don't think we did. I don't think the.
Owner really appreciated that.
But that's okay. Look, we were bringing joy and happiness to the sidewalk area in front of the house. Speaking of bringing joy and happiness, it's amazing how many people do stop by that house. And again, really sorry, owners, we didn't do it. We apologize, We apologize, but there.
Were people there even like they weren't there for us, but right, but just as a general sorry that you have to live in a in a you know, a tourist attraction.
But there were people that came by to like take pictures of the house. Right, So of course you and I are standing in front of the house and are dressed in our dressing kind of nineties grunge outfit which looked fabulous by the way, those outfits, yeah, I love those outfits. Thank you, Taylor are rear stylists for pulling that off. Anyway, there was a family of three girls and an older brother who ran across the street to the point they ran and I was like, oh my god, a car, like I'm this kid just took off running towards us right, and three little blonde girls and their older brother and mom who were losing their minds. Apparently they dressed one of them dressed up as Steph for Halloween. I think they did. The three. I think they were a DJ, Stephan and Michelle. They were the three Tanner sisters. They were so excited. They were there on vacation. They just stopped by to see the full House house and like, oh my god.
Saint Louis Missouri or st Yeah, they're from Missouri.
And then we were getting ready to leave and another family of three came up and I started to say something to them, and the dad turns and he says, we're from Germany. We don't speak English. That was a terrible German accent. I'm so sorry. I just wanted to let people know that he did not, in fact spake English. And they were from Germany coming to take a picture in front of the full House house and saw us and were like losing their mind.
I wonder what they were thinking, Like I can't even put myself in their shoes of how trippy. That must have been to see the actual characters.
I actually thought that was when I was up on the road trip with the girls and my friend Brooke, who you know. We were up there touring around and he was like, we have to go buy the full house house. I was like, all right, let's do it. So we drove by because I wanted to get a picture of the kids and I in front of it. And we're standing there getting a picture, and of course people pull over and they're going to get a picture of the house. No idea. So I offer to take these people's pictures. I was like, hey, you want me to take the picture and they were like yeah, yeah, yeah. I was like okay, so I take the picture and I put my glasses up and I hand the phone back to him and they were like, oh, like it was such a great moment, and they were like, will you get a picture with us? I was like yeah, absolutely. It was just it's so much fun to like, I mean, could you imagine showing up to a place for your favorite show and like randomly some of the cast is there.
So trippy.
So it was like when we drove around in the car when we were shooting some of the promos for Fuller House, and we were all dressed up in our eighties gear. Oh yeah, John, that was about you and years ago.
Yeah, we were up there shooting for the thirtieth anniversary of the premiere of Full House. And Jeff Franklin, the creator of an executive producer of a full House. He owned the house at that time. He had actually bought it and was trying to renovate it. Yeah.
I think he wanted to turn it into a B and B or an Airbnb.
I think so, or just I felt, Okay, here's the story I remember is that he wanted to make it look as much like the Tanner House inside, right, which was which is totally because.
Physics and that house couldn't. Let me tell you, we've been inside that house. It's so small, you guys, It's so small you couldn't. You would have trouble just getting Danny and the three girls in there and not being miserable, but like adding the Cassopolies and the Gladstones and the and the babies and this way. Oh my, there it was that house would have been if it actually existed, really really really packed tight.
Oh yeah, for sure. It's yeah, small rooms. Real estate is very expensive in San Francisco. It is it rooms reflect that.
But not the backyard of full house, because that thing changed every single episode. Well, we'll discuss that for sure. Can we get to that? Speaking of episodes, shall we uh? Shall we dive in? Let's do it, Let's do this.
Welcome back to How Rude Tannertos. I am one of your hosts, Andrea Barber.
And I am one of your other hosts, the only other host, Jody Sweeten.
Today we are discussing the pilot episode, Season one, episode one titled Our Very First Show. It first aired on September twenty first, nineteen eighty seven, and the show goes a little something like this. When Danny Tanner's wife Pamela is killed in an auto accident, he finds himself alone to raise his three daughters, dj who is ten, Stephanie, who is five, and baby Michelle, who is nine months old. Fortunately, Danny's hair obsessed rock star brother in law Jesse Cochran, along with Danny's cartoon loving friend Joey Gladstone, move in as unlikely help for Danny to raise his girls. This episode was directed by Joelswick, who we will talk a lot about later because he is such an iconic nineties sitcom director. Indeed, it was written by Jeff Franklin, who we've also mentioned on the show and will be appearing on the show at some point.
He also created the show, so.
Yeah, he's the heartbeat of the show. And this episode is starring John Stamos as Jesse Cochrane, Bom Zaggett as Danny Tanner, Dave Cleay as Joey Gladstone, Candice Cameron Burret as DJ Tanner, Jody Sweeten as Stephanie Tanner, Ashley and Mary Kate Olsen as Michelle Tanner.
And Kimmy Gibler has yet to enter the building.
Kimmy Gibler is mentioned in this episode, yes, but has not yet made an appearance yet entered now. But there are two other guest stars, Alice Hearson as Claire Tanner, Danny's mom, and Christy Clairidge as Vanessa.
A very important fact by the way, about Christy Claridge, who also when she appeared at the front door. When I watched this episode, I was like, I remember her. I remember I loved the out whatever, the outfit that she had on some very eighties like BOOSTI a pink moment. I was like as a kid, I was like, I like that outfit. But more importantly, she was Misinternational nineteen eighty two. But she is the sister of Linda Hogan, who is the ex wife of Hull Cogan.
So that is such a random fact.
I mean, that's it doesn't get more eighties than Whule Cogan. Okay, what is it? What you think about that brother or whatever? Wasn't that the whole Cogan? Sorry, I don't know, I'm not at Yeah, let's go with that and let's never do it again. Okay, So okay, let's do it. Let's do it go.
Let's go everywhere we look, everywhere you look. Let's start with the opening credits. We talked about this in our first episode.
Yeah, but here the longest opening credits.
The longest opening credits ever and so iconic. We love them so much. Do you, Jody, did you remember auditioning for this pilot? Like were you excited about getting your first pilot? Tell me like you were five, Like how much life experience had you had.
I actually did an audition for the show. I had done a guest appearance on a show called Valerie, which was Valerie Harper's Show, Oh Yeah, which later became The Hogan Family. But I had done a guest appearance on that, playing the next door neighbor's niece, Pamela Pool. I actually played Pamela and and so I did an episode of that with Jason Bateman and that was my first episode of television ever. And then from that they had sent a tape over to Jeff I guess of my appearance on that, and he was like, yep, that's Stephanie. And that was it. So I never actually auditioned for the show. It just again this weird little magic spell that's been cast over full house, like the people just sort of if you know, it was kids the Oald of Dreams. Yeah, if you yeah, if you create it, they will, they will, they will show up. So anyway, so that was that was how it happened. What about I mean, you've been doing.
Days of Our Lives right, Oh yeah, well I was ten, so I had I had extensive acting credits that are huge. Yeah, yeah, that point right, So yeah, I do remember bits of my audition. I auditioned twice. I auditioned for DJ first and then I auditioned obviously didn't get that role. Uh. And then I auditioned for Kimmy Gibbler. Is isn't a good time to talk about the script that I found, my original edition script that nobody get into the show.
I feel like we should definitely bring up what could have been, what.
Could have been?
Right, So I would have been, yeah, this.
This I don't know, like, look at me saying this. Let me show you on this audio podcast when I'm holding.
Up right now it's a why don't you describe it? It's a script.
This is an original script, a very very early draft.
Not even an original well it's an original pilot script. But it's so original. It's not even the same characters.
It's not the same characters. It's dated February eighteenth, nineteen eighty seven. And let me tell you the shocker. What I didn't remember is that the characters have completely different names. So I auditioned not for DJ, but for the role of Jennifer because DJ was originally Jennifer and Uncle Jesse was an uncle Jesse, he was Uncle Adam. Did you like, do you remember this? Do you remember?
How weirdly I do you do? When I saw that script, I was like, oh my gosh, that's right. But then I'm also like, wait, maybe am I remembering Jeff telling the story that it was uncle at Like I remember Jeff talking about some of the changes in the names. But one thing I do not think that that we've ever talked about was that the Tanners weren't originally the Tanners.
This is mind blowing, This is mind boing.
Is huge.
We were gonna be the cross words like it just it doesn't hit the same way.
It doesn't. It doesn't we know Stephanie craw the.
Crawford's growing up. No, it's not the same. No, Like this show never would have been a hit if no, in the Crawfords instead of the Tanners.
It was a necessary change. The Tanners made it happen.
I agree. Well, the character descriptions are still very correct. Like they describe Stephanie as five years old, dreams of being a ballerina, a sweet, happy little charmer who already knows how to use what she has to get what she wants. Oh that's that's that's pretty accurate.
It's it's stakely description of a manipulative little child. No, not at this, not yet, not yet. But you showed me that the other day, and Big big thank you to your mom keeping everything.
God bless Sherry Barber. Yeah, she kept every little thing like it's just and it brings up so many feelings for me. Like in pencil written here is like the page number that I have to turn to because that's where the lines were that I had to read during the audition. So page twelve and thirteen, page thirty nine through forty one, those are the scenes I read for my audition for Jennifer who turned into DJ.
So anyways, ye fun little fact. Can you imagine there you as no you were now.
Show would have failed like it was always meant to be Kimmy Gibler yea, and us was always meant to be DJ this.
It couldn't have happened any other way.
I agree, I agree.
But here's to the Crawfords, the family that almost was. You know, they also weren't allowed to have wire hangers in their house. But that's what I was. Okay, I was there.
This is this is but the spirit of Bob Saggatt lives on through you and your inappropriate humor. Jody, let's jump right in. We've gotten past these opening credits. We are now inside the house. We are in the Tanner living room. Danny enters the house with DJ and Stephanie in his trying to help his mother leave. Grandma says the baby is sleeping like a baby, and then says, oh my angels and squats down while the while DJ and Stephanie go running into her arms. Dy, tell me what you remember about this scene or your wardrobe, or your co stars or anything. What do you remember?
So what I vividly remember is there's a part in this scene where you know, Danny's trying to get his mom out the door. The girls don't want her to leave, so they keep kind of like doing this rotating hugging thing. They're hugging her. Danny moves them and they go back and up, so she goes out onto the front porch, and there's a moment where I grab Grandma and I won't let her go. I'm like hugging her around her neck, and Danny picks up my legs and I'm like he's, you know, holding like the back of me, and then I'm my arms are wrapped around Grandma. I remember that, so like I remember that moment.
It's such a great sight gag, by the way, It's it's such a great it's such a great site gag and was always such a wonderful moment because that was the thing that I remembered most.
About that first episode. And then also, you know, at the end of Fuller House, I walked back in the door, and I think I hugged Bob walked in, and so it was just kind of a neat, like full circle moment in that. But yeah, I remember, you know, being like strung, you know, across the double wide doors, you know, hanging just hanging around, And yeah, it was I remember that moment. The little blue overalls, curly hair.
So cute, so cute, the curly hair, I was, the pink hair clips.
The yep yeap, the sponge rollers, the blue overalls.
Did you get to pick out your wardrobe? Like, how do you remember if you had a say in your wardrobe or was it all?
I mean, it was kind of picked for me, but I and I was like I didn't really, I was like, yeah, whatever, Like I didn't really I wasn't really too picky about, you know, clothing or anything like that. I mean, I'm sure I know that you that Kimmy Gibler's clothes were that's all. That's a, Oh, that's a little struggle, that's a whole We're not going to get into that yet.
There's time. We got one hundred and ninety one more to go, so we'll get to the Kimmy Gibler clothes.
Yes, but I remember, I remember that moment, and I remember Grandma, you know, she leaves and Danny saying like, okay, you know we're gonna have fun or what. And it's just like weren't you know? And crossing to the couch. And one thing that I noticed is that there were two couches. Yes, and I couch got there were two couches.
Because later on it's like two ottomans eight.
Think for a while that later on was two chairs, those two blue chairs. But at first it was the couch. And I think it became like such a pain to move in and out and like for shots and stuff and you know whatever. But I remember that, like now, I was like, that's right, there were two couches.
I completely forgot about that.
Where's the other couch? What happened? Who has the other couch?
I bet John Stamos has both of them.
Right there, But yeah, it's got us back up, a backup couch.
You gotta have a backup couch because it's so so iconic. Okay, So Danny takes turns pulling the girls off of Grandma and a really funny sight gag, saying, you know, Grandma really needs to go, and then Grandma says Danny, I don't need to go back home. Danny tells her mom, this isn't how we rehearsed it last night. Take a walk with me. Dj and Stephanie follow them, but he shoots them a look as they run back to the door. Danny says she's been taking care of them for three months since Danny's wife, Pamela died, and he doesn't know how they would have made it without her. But she really has to go because his dad needs her to. No, this is a very very emotional scene for the first scene straight out of the gate for a pilot like me.
And you've got to set up that the mom's dead. You know, you got it.
I mean it's mom just died three months ago. Like this is a family.
Well, it's gotta be. Yeah, it's gotta be. It's gotta be fresh enough that it requires the guys to move in, but not so fresh that everyone's just crying and it's uncomfortable to watch. So there's a window I think of time in sitcoms that is, you know everyone's done grieving and uh, and they've moved on relatively quickly.
It's there's definitely a balance, and I think that Jeff Franklin, who wrote the episode, struck it perfectly, like for sure, just enough emotion, but not enough that.
We're all do you just need to know that? It's like a yeah, that it's a moment, Like it's a sad moment. Why are they so sad that Grandma's leave. It's not like she comes every weekend. This was this is a big thing. Their life has changed life.
Yes, your lives have been turned upside down and Grandma was there to help you. Yeah, Danny says, he's got everything under control and help is moving in today. Grandma says, if you need me, I'm on the next plane. He hugs her goodbye, and we think that she's about to leave, but then she squats down again and says my angels, and the girls go running right back into her arms. Grandma eventually leaves, and Danny awkwardly says, Okay, are we gonna have fun or what the girls make adorable poudy faces before Danny asks to see some smiles and says that everything is going to work out super great. He reveals to the audience that uncle Jesse is moving in and so is his best friend Joey. That means Stephanie and DJ get the news that they are going to be roommates. He asks, isn't that exciting, and Stephanie says I can wear all of DJ's clothes, but DJ is less enthused, asking do I have to share a room with her? Danny tries to convince her it'll be like having a slumber party, but she clarifies with only one guest who never leaves, which is perfectly delivered by Candace, who really really nailed this like preteen moodiness.
Right, And now that I have two daughters, like they would yeah, like I get that, Like they had their own rooms and then you'd be like, now you're together, and they would have been like, I'm now this isn't happening.
Oh yes, I felt this. I felt this mo moment where I was like, yeah, my kids, this would not fly with my kids. Should suddenly sharing a room at age ten right away?
Would that go over? Yeah? I poor DJ. I mean, you know, as a kid like I didn't really you know. Now I look back at it, I'm like, oh man, DJ's really yeah, you know, got to deal with the little sister. Mom's gone, well, and she has that moment in the end, Mom does, Mom's gone, Grandma left. I don't even have my own room. She moved into the garage. We'll get there, we'll get I feel for her.
I definitely feel for her. In this moment, Uncle Jesse arrives.
Hey, hey, look alive.
Uncle Jesse is here, and he moves in carrying a small duffel, a bike, helmet, and a guitar not in a case. So you instantly know, just from this like three second entrance, exactly who Uncle Jesse is, because he's just he's a rock star. He looks the part, he plays the part.
I'm gonna I'm gonna say something though, if he's riding a motorcycle with a guitar not in a case, it's a very that's really if you're a rock star, you are really treating your equipment pretty poorly. If you're not, there's not even a not even a case, a soft case.
Well, you know, you know what happened.
What if the guitar gets a gravel in it or something. I don't know. I'm just saying I watched that and I was like, did you just keep it on your back the whole time? I think it was the eighties? What do I know?
Maybe if he drove the motorcycle with one hand and was playing the guitar with the This is just one of those sitcom things you just want you just have to just weigh your hand.
I ask far too many logical questions sometimes for my own good.
You can't say on a sitcom if you ask too many specific questions.
That's It's true. It's true. You know what's funny, though, is the second you meet Uncle Jesse. I was like, I did not remember John's character being so harsh.
He was very bold, like he has very like yeah, and I had energy walking into this.
Scene, and I, yeah, that's like the setup for the and and you know, it's also who he kind of becomes in as a member of the family and all this stuff. So even really Uncle Jesse goes on quite a journey starting where he does. But yeah, I just remembered he came in and I remember he Bob and John at first did not like John was not here for Bob's fooling around, and Bob was like, John's taking this way too seriously, and they'd like they did not get along.
Okay, I remember this rumor.
This is a rumor, so this is true that.
John's absolutely they've yeah, get along at first.
They've talked about it that they did not, that they did not get along like at first, and they couldn't stand each other and they annoyed each other and blah blah blah blah blah. And I remember sort of the like the tension. It was like you know, oh, because it was I just remember like John coming also from like soap opera world too, so it was shooting twenty some odd pages a day, like you you know what I mean, like you've got to get the work done, and boss, you know, stand up, and and he was like, let's just fun and goof around, and you know. So I think those two working styles really came into conflict in the beginning, but then you know, by by the end they were literal brothers and absolutely loved each other. But it was, yeah, did not did not start off that way, and it it's a testament to to Bob and John. Really that they created such a dynamic close relationship over the years.
I love that. I'm glad. I'm glad they worked it out because.
Yeah, because again, it could have it. I mean, it could have gone side of the Crawfords. Bob and John could have hated each other. It could it all so many moments.
This could have gone really sideways. So I'm glad they they found some common ground. Yes, Danny asked Jesse where he was because he missed breakfast, and he tells Danny that after his gig at the Smash Club, our first mention of the Smash Club, the.
Smash Club before Jesse owned it, though, yes, when he was just playing there.
Prior to Jesse owning it. Jesse took a ride on his Harley and ended up in Reno. He happened to wander into this show called Razzle Dazzle eighty seven, which was much better than Razzle Dazzle eighty six, by the way, where he locked eyes with an incredible show girl named Vanessa. Danny starts to get nervous about where this story is going as he notices the girls are taking in every word Uncle Jesse says and stops him in front of the girls, right before he gets a little too descriptive about what Vanessa was starving for. Now, this was a little racy, right, like this is like, yeah, full House the family comedy, Like, oh well, that's the windows.
R House the family Comedy was almost not Full House. Originally was a story about three comics.
That's right, House of Comics.
Originally House House of Comics. And really the show that Jeff wrote was about these three guys, and I think the kids may have been in it, but not as significantly as you know, wand up being a family sitcom, but that the the sort of general direction I think of what Jeff had originally envisioned before it became Full House was more of a like a buddy comedy between these three guys and sort of their dating life and single dads and you know, dealing with kids and whatever. But that was I think kind of more of the more of the the vibe of it. And so I think we see still see like a little bit of some of those holdovers in some of the characters, especially in the first episode and the first couple episodes.
I think I'm so eager to get Jeff on the show and ask him these questions about the origin story of the show, and yeah, because I remember I remember him talking about how he changed the entire idea of the show from House of Comics during the pitch meeting, I believe because they were.
Like, what do you have more of that's family, and he was like, I've got this, and he just made it into Yeah, he.
Just created it on the spot, which is funny because Jeff is like, he's never been married, he doesn't have any kids, like he's not really a family.
Guess why he wrote a show about three comedians and not family. Right, It's like, okay, I'll try it, but he had to pivot very quickly.
And created one of the most iconic family shows of all time.
Speaking of pivoting, my ballet skills really come to the forefront of this scene because I apparently all Steph wants to do is just play Ballerina, very persistent.
It's very persistent. Stephanie wants to play ballerina with Uncle Jesse, but he says he doesn't want to play, but she nags him and eventually guilts him into it with her sad face, which was an excellent sad face of rubbing your eyes like you were talking.
I couldn't write. I was either just really tired, I had an allergy attack, something metal shard in my eye, or I was fading crying.
Well, the couch was very dusty. I mean, at least in Fuller House got it. But it was a dust from one of the two platforms.
It was. I had severe allergies as a child, That's what it was. But I also that's what I do when I throw a fit. You've seen it before Andry, I do it all the time. No, I don't want to record the bag right, And that's what works.
Well. It works. It's very effective.
It's never failed up until now.
So Jesse and Stephanie play ballerina. He asks how they play ballerina and she says they dance, and then she instructs him on how to twirl on his tiptoes before telling him he needs to practice because they're going to do this every single day. Jesse is not impressed.
Obviously, he doesn't want to be a professional dancer because that's what it takes. It takes every day.
Were you into ballet as a child.
Yeah, I was. Yes, I was a big dancer. That was part of the reason why they've written for you. Yeah, I loved dancing. That was like how I kind of got into performing really was dance recitals and I loved being up on stage and doing all that. So yeah, they really wrote some of the parts of Steph around things that were actually true of me. So it was it was great because I got to you know, I mean, obviously my ballet skills.
Were top match, so they were so cute.
They were I was. I was. I was a member of the Young Geoffrey Ballet at that point, evidenced by my tiptoeing around the living room.
It was so cute, you had it was really for a five year old.
I mean, it was fantastic. I was, I was cute. I wouldn't have said no to me playing ballerina.
Well, but we had to establish that Jesse was not exactly you know, super fond of kids was a learning experience for him. Next we have Joey who arrives completely covered by a huge pile of clothes and doing a signature Dave trumpet horned sound. Oh that was good. I was debating if I should try to recreate it, and I was like, no, that.
Would not I have you never really even tried to do that before, and I just went for it in the moment. I was like, try it, what's the worst that could happen? And nailed it. Now I'm not gonna no, it's diminishing return.
Now it's getting weird. Okay, No, Day would be very proud of you. Danny takes the clothes from Joey, revealing that Joey is wearing a very loud, cartoon buttoned down shirt and this is like, this is so Joey Gladstone, Like you just instantly know he's just like one big kid.
It was. It was like they weren't they weren't Hawaiian shirts necessarily. They were just loud.
They were very loud and kid like. Yeah, and you're just like, okay, I can't take this guy seriously because he's wearing this loud not Hawaiian, but Hawaiian.
Were those Was that a thing? I don't was? I mean, obviously they were readily available at stores. Were people walking around wearing these sorts of shirts?
Maybe not in public?
No, okay, okay, I just I wasn't sure. I don't remember even what was on the shirts particularly. I tried to look on like when as I was watching the show, what was on there, but I didn't tell. Was it Popeye?
It's hard to tell. No, I think might make it out either. I just could instantly not thought shirt I got it, Sure he did. I'm sure it was in his his pile of dirty clothes that he was carrying.
Right, and Nothing says, I've chosen the right person to help me look after my children. Then someone who can't do laundry and is living in an alcove us, you know it's right.
And and Joey says, he's say.
And someone who doesn't even keep their guitar in a case, you know what I mean? And those are not the people.
These aren't the most reliable people that Danny has chosen. But that's that's that's the gag. That's part of the joke. The joke has to work.
The joke has to work.
So Joey comments, Wow, you know, I'm so lucky. I'm moving into a new place on the exact day that I run out of clean clothes, and that's wonderful. And then you get this great shot of Bob who quickly drops all of the clothes on the floor and everyone slowly backs away from the clothes. Fantastic I'm not totally clear at this point if Jesse and Joey have moved in as a favor to Danny or if they're there for the free rent.
I mean, isn't sort of one shaking the hand with the other, you know what I mean, Like, I mean, sure, I'll do this favor for you, but I'm also like getting free rent. So it's kind of working out for both of us.
You got to match my back all scratch yours. Is it one of those situations?
Yeah, I think that's I mean, it sounds you know, and then and then then they got trapped and they never left and they for eight years, for eight years, right, yes, right? I mean, who'd want to move out of an alcove?
You know? The alcove? The alcove was a very attractive option for Joey.
I had never heard, I think until I was the word alcove until that show, until full out like as a kid, and then I like, I just had this idea in my head that all San Francisco homes had what was apparently a standard feature of an alcove.
I wonder if this is a San Francisco thing. Remember Holmes having alcoves in the eighties.
Do you remember the full House house when we actually went in, it fit an alcove in there where you're gonna fit an alcove the whole first four There's no one's having alcoves in most of these San Francisco skinny houses. Yeah, anyway, I'd never heard of an alcove. The alcove is is Apparently it's like a little half cave in under the stairs.
Yeah, sort of.
I have an alcove in my house now, you do, Yeah, that little under you know, the little understair like.
The yeah, yeah, yeah, but it's nice.
I don't think Joey could live there.
So Full House made alcoves popular, it did, maybe it did it?
Really, it revitalized the alcove industry, it's all I'm saying.
So Joey moves into the large alcove in the back of the living room and says that there is no way all of his stuff is going to fit in this room. Danny corrects him and says this isn't a tiny room, it's a large alcove, and that he will be he will be living in it for free. Suddenly Joey says this room is enormous. Then Joey tells the girls that they are going to have so much fun together before doing a lot of signature Dave Coolier sound effects, including Popeye and a laser.
DJ Haser, that's right, he was, Yeah, yeah, yeah yeah.
DJ asks Danny if he thinks is there any chance they could still catch Grandma at the airport, which is a great button to this entire scene, which is a very very long scene for the cold open of the pilot, Like this scene just goes on, well.
There was a lot. It goes on only half the length of the opening credits though, No, it is a it's a very long scene.
But you got a lot of things to establish.
There's a lot of exposition that needs to happen. I mean, there's you know, you can't the nuance in a in a thirty minute sitcom is minimal. So you've got to explain Mom's gone, Dad needs help, Grandma leaving, kids are unh happy, Jesse's a rock star, and Joey's an idiot, well not an idiot, but like a just a mess, you know what I mean.
Same thing.
So it takes it takes a fair amount of pages to cover all of those six or seven very important topics.
And can we talk for a minute, because I'm betting that there are hundreds of people out there that have seen this episode or all a full house and still don't kind of understand the relations like who these people are, like the relationships.
So I Jesse, I don't think very often that the writers sometimes did or you know what I mean, because we kind of went, oh, that's right, we're actually all related.
So Jesse, uncle Jesse is your uncle. He but he's not related to Danny Tanner.
No, he's pamel Imla's brother.
Brother, that's right, right, So he's the he's Danny's.
Brother, Danny's he's Danny's brother in law who starts off the show not Greek with the last name of Cochrane, which gets changed very quick, gets changed pretty quickly, and we'll cover that. But but yeah, he starts off as as Cochrane, then becomes Greeker, even though Steph and dj and Michelle are look nothing like that side of the family because we've also met, like we at some point we meet the other Greek family and uh, yeah, apparently Pam maybe Pam was adopted, maybe Pam was you know, let's go with that. Let's go with that because it's yeah, I've seen some of the parents and it's just it's a strange. So it's an interesting match up there, you know what I mean. Well, but anyway, but that's how technically the family tree is drawn.
Okay, So Jesse is Danny's brother in law and Joey, even though people commonly call him Uncle Joey, he's not, in fact an uncle.
He is not an uncle, nor has I'm gonna debate this fact because people always say, oh, what about Uncle Joey. I'm like, and I'm the first to I'm like, actually, you know made him minute, Actually he was. He's not an uncle, and we never called him Uncle Joey.
Right, even more importantly, yes, but.
They did on fuller The younger kids, I think started calling him uncle Joey because I remember having this, this this discussion I think it notes and being like, but he's not an uncle. He's not. We never called him Uncle Joey. Maybe it's one of those, you know, sort of by association. He's become an uncle over time. I'm not saying he can't be. I'm not saying I am opposed to his membership as an honorary uncle. I'm just saying I don't think we ever called him Uncle Joey.
I agree, I agree. This is a sticky scene for me as well.
In our rewatch if we see it happen and there's some mention of uncle Joey. But if we get to all one hundred and ninety two episodes and he has not been called Uncle Joey, I'm gonna feel vindicated.
Absolutely Well. We've got a long ways to go until we get to that moment, but I.
Look it's gonna be I'm gonna have to wait at that moment.
Okay. So the next scene, we have finally finished the cold open, and we are now upstairs in Uncle Jesse What is now Uncle Jesse's room. Danny and Jesse walk into the room. This is formerly Stephanie's room, so it is. The room is baby blue. It is covered in pink bunnies. There is tiny furniture and ballet slippers on the wall. Jesse says, oh, Barbie's dream house would look great near the window.
Right, which is in that original script. By the way, remember we were looking at it the other day and I said that line is in the original show.
That joke stat right through all the name changes that joke, state that joke, state.
That joke worked. But the pig bunnies are actually a very important story. Oh, they don't think are necessarily discussed in this episode. I think it comes a little bit later, baby. But the pink bunnies were apparently handcut out by Steph's mom, by Pamela and put in her room.
Oh watch, that.
Was the story of the pink bunnies.
So that's why they left the pink bunnies.
That was why they left the pink bunnies up.
Well, Jesse's not a fan, unfortunately, he's not sentimental.
And then eventually he gives a framed one to Michelle. They weren't even her pink bunnies. That wasn't even her room. Anyway, we'll get there, we'll get there. I've got there, pages. There are we resentful of that, Jodie Sweeten, are we? Okay?
You got you got notes up pages.
But that was the story of the pink bunnies, so that was why they were there. But no, Jesse was not exactly feeling the vibe of pink bunnies in Ballet.
He's very anti kid in this whole episode, which we'll get to that, Okay, Jesse starts to unpack his two things on hangers while Danny gets emotional, saying how much he appreciates him being there. Danny tells him the girls are so happy to have him here. Danny hugs Jesse tightly and says God bless you, and Jesse says, you are hugging me in a room with pink bunnies.
Which here's one of those jokes that you yeah, there's the not so thinly veiled sort of omophobic jokes of the eighties, But you know it's I think it's I think it was also more that, like Jesse was just not emotional and Danny was emotional, and that was I think, you know, the hugging thing, right.
This joke bumped me too. I'm like, oh, yeah, that's not like men being uncomfortable with hugging other men. That's not funny anymore. So this this joke didn't hold up.
I mean it was, yeah, it was. I really I feel like Jesse, he's got a lot, he's got some emotional growing to do, some work, you know, like to see him really discuss some of these feelings about why he's so you know, averse to being hugged in a room with big bunnies.
He's a tough guy. He's very much into proving how tough of a guy.
That he is, right with his three shirts. Right.
So Danny breaks away from the hug and says, you know, sorry, I am just a lean, mean hugging machine. Now I want to talk about this hugging bit for a bit because it wasn't this originally written because there, okay, Bob said, it wasn't the original Danny Tanner either.
No, no, he was not the original Danny Tanner. John Posey was the original Danny Tanner, and we shot a pilot episode with John Posey, which I think people can it's out there somewhere on you know, YouTube or whatever, and it's I think it's in like some of the extended DVD cuts. But yeah, Bob was not the original Danny Tanner. It was John Posey. Bob was doing another show, and then through again a series of things that happened and unfolded, and Bob got fired or not fired, but was no longer on the morning show that he was doing, so his schedule opened up. But the only reason that they knew about it was because Dave and Bob had like lived together when they were young and they had were still friends, and so when Dave heard that Bob was available, he told Jeff or something like it was some sort of like random again happening of how we all wound up in the right place at the right time and we actually went and reshot the pilot with Bob.
Oh wow, wow.
Yeah.
Do you remember shooting scenes with John Posey?
I remember, like the first scene, I think, just because that first scene was so memorable and iconic for me as like a kid and an actor, and you know, I remember shooting it with John Posey, But yeah, I don't. I mean, I he was just there for one episode. Lovely man, very sweet, very It wasn't ever like a you know, personality thing. It just right. He Bob, I think, was who Jeff had always wanted, and it just was a scheduling thing. And then when it kind of resolved itself, it Bob Bob came in and he was Danny Tanner with his wonderful hugs.
So I feel like this joke is kind of a holdover from when Posey was in the pilot, because Posey was more of like a Teddy Bear build, like he was like a huggable, shorter huggable guy, and you know he wasn't this tall long.
Green saying only short people are huggble in? Are you just saying I have a lot of emails about that.
I feel like this it's a person If hugging is going to be a personality trait, you know, you have to look huggable. And I feel like maybe John Posey looked more huggable and that's why that was written in and it just carried over when Bob became.
I don't don't. I think that's just your own. I mean, you can, you can build that story out if you'd like the story that John looked more huggled. So basically the story is John was more huggable. That's what you've told yourself. That's what I told was more.
Hug origin of the hugging, hugging personality, you know what.
I I don't know the actual origin because I am not Jeff Franklin, so he he would know that. But I think it was. I mean, I remember John Posey being that. I seem to remember it being just that that was kind of the juxtaposition between like Jesse and Joey and Danny, was that Danny was the emotional hugger family guy. Jesse was the like rock and roll bro, and then you know, Joey was just kind of this looney on most childlike person himself. So I think it was that was part of who Danny Tanner was. But if you want to make it that, you know, uh, John Posey was more huggable. I mean, we can tell that story too if you'd like.
Well, everybody, so everyone email us and give us your opinions, Like, tell us what you think was Bob Sagga he was a very huggable guy. But I'm you know, he was very told.
I think it was just part of the character. But we can you know, again, we could choose your own adventure. We can create whatever we want.
And when Jeff Franklin is on the show, we will actually ask him this question. And that was all of these rumors.
John Posey more huggable than Bob. Is that on the record. That's the debate, right, that's the question.
So finally we see Jesse get more emotional. He says, you know, Pam was my big sister. He loved her very much, and he loved he loves the kids. He is happy to do whatever Danny needs him to do, which is a great moment.
Was this I thought I wrote it down. No, it was at the end where we hear the first strings of the.
Viol Oh that comes later. I don't think they were.
Vital they were, no, but it was definitely a more quiet moment. But I but this this the first strings of the violin are played at the end of this episode.
Oh, yes, I can't wait for that.
I can't wait.
So Danny once again gets emotional and hugs him again, and Jesse says he's gonna need to regulate this hugging. So again this joke, Yeah, this, These jokes were supposed to be funny at the time.
You're supposed to be funny at the time. Now it's not funny. But I'm also I'll try and give benefit of the doubt here. Celia, my best friend does not like to be hugged. Oh okay, and a room of pink bunnies or otherwise she's just not a big hugger.
So I respect that.
Maybe maybe Jesse, it's not so much the it's you know that, not that he's problematic in that regard, but that, you know, maybe he just is not. Maybe he's just a little he's a little overstimulated, doesn't really want to be hugged at that moment.
I fully respect that's probably it was probably.
I'm gonna I'm gonna go with that, but that's probab probably not true. It was definitely veiled inappropriate sort of jokes in the eighties.
But we're coming to respect each other's boundaries and wishes, you know. Yeah, yeah, yeah, awesome. Okay, next scene, we are finally in DJ and Stephanie's room, which is such a cool room. There is like bangles posters on the wall. There is a giants pendant, so you know exactly where you are. We're in San Francisco. I just thought this was the coolest room.
The red DJ's red metal bed bed, like the geometric wallpaper and.
The matching bed spread and pillows.
They were fantastic with her pillow. Person. Oh yeah, first time we see the person, we see the pier and I have to say, I'm holding like a stuffed dog, a stuffed Golden Retriever by the way, but a stuffed dog. In the scene, mister Bear is nowhere to be found.
No, this this is pre mister Bear.
Speaking of this is that's the original mister bear sitting right here behind me. That is in the background of my shot. But that's the original mister bear. But yeah, he was not in the pilot. I was a little I was shocked.
Actually, So do you think the little the little dog you were carrying was supposed to be like a little a little I think a comet.
We didn't have comment yet. Oh, you didn't have comment yet. Have we have comment yet? This is foreshadowing. Its foreshadowing for sure. Yeah.
So DJ starts to lay down some roommate ground rules while pulling a streamer down the middle of the room to divide it in half. Rule number one, don't touch my stuff. Rule number two, don't set foot on my side of the room. And since the door of the room is on DJ side, Stephanie wants to know how she'll ever get out, and DJ says it's easy, jump out the window and climb down the tree. Stephanie doesn't want to do that, so she says she will find another way out, and then starts to climb on the curtains.
Oh and here where we run into one of the first things that you can no longer do with television or with children on television, which is suspend them more than six inches off the ground in a stunt harness.
But this is one of the most iconic moments in the entire episode. And I am so excited to hear, Okay, exactly how you did this stunt? Like it doesn't look exactly natural, I would say, but tell me how they did this.
So it was there basically was like a it was sort of like a rock climbing harness, right, okay, with wires attached to either side. So it was almost like a really uncomfortable looking bathing suit bottom that was like you know those those swings at the park for babes. Yes, that are like the plastic hard things, and you stick their legs in wearing that under your clothes. It's so comfortable, doesn't pinch, you know, not at all restricting anyway. So and of course they don't exactly make these like for kid sizes, you know what I mean, They're not there's so they have to kind of adjust it and do it as a whole like fittings with meetings with the stunt people and all this stuff. And you know, this was my first like big I mean, I'd done one episode of television before, so I was like, I didn't know I need this worked, So I was like okay, and I loved it. I was always up for. Yeah, I was a kid that was always up for like some silly, crazy adventure. I will say though, it was a little uncomfortable, definitely pinched certain places when you're hanging in the thing and being supported. And one thing that you see as I'm so believably crawling across the curtains hand overhand is that the curtains are just slapping me in the face right like they're just I can't see. I'm like, if you look at my face in the thing, it's hilarious because obviously I'm like, I'm my eyes are closed, you know what I mean. I'm like, how this child is climbing across the curtains with her eyes closed and curtains smacking her in the face. And it was dusty because everything's dusty on a set.
Everything is dusty.
Yeah, and then yeah, and then so I got to ride it all the way over and then DJ pulls the curtains and I got to like ride it all the way back, thus also getting slapped in the face the reverse direction with said curtains, but making for really really funny and iconic joke, and I mean the best joke of the whole thing was they walk in. You know, Danny says, Steph, what are you doing? Oh? Just hanging around?
Yes, that's one of my favorite lines in those whole episode. So that your delivery was so perfect on that line and so cute and just one of my favorite moments in the.
Whole Well, we start soon seeing that that Steph is a little bit of a kind of a snarky smartass, which I love. But yeah, the curtains scene is it is I vividly, I vividly remember that, you know, I mean, how often do you get hung from curtains as a child.
Okay, so Danny gets Stephanie down and Joey comes in, singing and acting like he's going to do the limbo dance under the room divider.
It's too low and he can't do it. Do you remember Dave used to like just make that noise and sing that weird song all the time.
That jogged a memory for me. Yes, it means you it was a Dave creation. I'm sure it was.
Just like a weird It was again one of those Andrea Barber It was just like you he'd walk in the room just like shimmying his shoulders just like that, and then you were like, Okay, now we're done.
Yeah, that was not just a weird Gladstone. That was Dave being.
That was Dave. Yep.
DJ says sharing a room with Stephanie is already a nightmare, and Danny tells her that everything is going to work out super great. Danny has to leave to go to work at the station where he's doing a two part sports report on boxers, highly skilled athletes or bullies in Shorts. This is the first time we learned that Danny is a sports TV reporter, which in the original early pilot script I have he was a weatherman, so that changed. Stephanie asked for a piggyback ride and Danny picks her up, and he tells Jesse and Joey that the baby's schedule is on the fridge and he wants to make sure can the guys handle this. The guy's answer that they definitely got this, and Danny starts to leave. Stephanie looks back at DJ and says.
I told you I'd find a way out, and DJ looks miserable. Yep. Speaking of DJ's suggestion of climbing out the window. There's an extra window in that set, or maybe I'm just remembering the Fuller one, but there is a window next to Steph's bed, and I think at some point that went away. Oh and it was just the window seat, but fuller house. I thought I could be again, I could be wrong. I'm gonna keep watching the set because I think we did at some we moved sets, and I think changed a couple little things.
But well, we already know the backyard is a shape shifting set, so maybe the bedroom was also somewhat shape shifting as well.
It was all they were. All the entire house was shape shifting. It was a Harry Potter spell for sure, to fit everyone in that house.
It was an optical illusion. Yes, yes, Well, you know that the pilot is such a major iconic episode that we're gonna have to split this into two different recaps. So let's wrap up this part one of the pilot and make sure that you tune in next time, where we will discuss the second half of the pilot on how Rude Tanner Ritos and don't forget to follow us and dm us on Instagram at how Rude Podcast.
